The invention relates to fastening glass fibers to other components and, in particular, to a method for heremetically fastenting a glass fiber to a tube at a fastening location by melting the tube.
Highly sensitive glass fibers are used as optical fibers or light wave guides for optical transmission of data in light wave guide components. To effectively protect these glass fibers against mechanical, electrical, and other environmentally caused interferences, the fibers are hermetically sealed and fastened in a protective sheathing.
For light wave guide components having a glass fiber lead some of the following hermetic fastening methods have become known such as: metallization of the glass fiber and subsequently soldering the metallized glass fiber in into a metal capillary tube; sintering a silk-screen paste onto the glass fiber; pretinning the fiber and soldering the fiber into a metal capillary tube; and fastening the glass fiber in a metal capillary tube with glass solder. The tubes can then soldered or laser-welded into the casing wall of a component. All of these methods allow the hermetic fastening of a glass fiber, but they are normally elaborate and costly.
A further possibility for fastening glass fibers is fastening the glass fiber with an adhesive agent. The use of an adhesive agent however has problems regarding the permability of the joint under changing climatic conditions.